Michelle Neiss, PhD

Michelle Neiss, Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer at DHM Research. In this role, she is responsible for the company’s strategic vision, directs fiscal goals, and provides guidance and mentorship to the team. She also manages key client and business partnerships and provides methodological leadership.

With over twenty years of experience conducting qualitative and quantitative research, Michelle specializes in complex research design and multivariate statistical analysis to inform strategic planning and communications. Her work provides a deeper understanding around subgroups and how attitudes and behavior change over time.

Understanding her clients’ overall objectives is a crucial step in the research process for Michelle; her work has helped clients implement better marketing strategies, plan more strategically, and communicate more effectively. She enjoys taking on complicated analysis and uncovering meaningful stories in the numbers. Michelle’s work with DHM has allowed her to find fulfillment through projects that help to make our community a better place, directing research focused on improving public transportation, substance abuse prevention, and emergency preparedness.

As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southampton, Michelle studied social psychology. She has a doctorate and master’s degrees from the University of Arizona in family studies and human development. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Stanford University. Michelle has authored articles investigating the effects of age in perception and awareness of emotion and self-esteem in Neurobiology of Aging and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Michelle is a member of the City Club of Portland, the American Association of Public Opinion Research, and The Link. She is also a college and career mentor at Sunset High School. Volunteering at her kids’ activities fills her time outside of work; in the rare event of a spare moment she can be found curled up with a book.